Year: 2026 | Month: April | Volume: 13 | Issue: 4 | Pages: 67-73
DOI: https://doi.org/10.52403/ijrr.20260406
HER2-Low Breast Cancer: A Clinicopathological Study
Hemangini Vora1, Priti Trivedi2, Nupur Patel1, Kruti Rajvik1, Bhumi Vaniya1, Anisha Sharma1, Nikul Gohel1, Srushti Kardani1
1Immunohematology Lab, Cancer Biology Department, 2Oncopathology Department,
The Gujarat Cancer & Research Institute, Medicity Civil Hospital Campus, Asarwa, Ahmedabad-380008
Corresponding Author: Dr Hemangini Vora, PhD
ABSTRACT
Background: Breast cancer exhibits biological heterogeneity, and recent attention has focused on the subset of tumors classified as HER2-low. This study aimed to evaluate the clinicopathological characteristics and associations of HER2-low breast cancer.
Methods: A total of 100 female breast cancer cases with a median age of 52 years were analyzed. Clinicopathological parameters including age, menopausal status, tumor size, lymph node status, disease stage, histologic grade, Bloom–Richardson (BR) score, and hormone receptor status were assessed. HER2 status was categorized as HER2-low (1–2+ immunohistochemistry without FISH amplification) or HER2-negative.
Results: Of the 100 cases, 65 were classified as HER2-low and 35 as HER2-negative. HER2-low tumors were significantly more frequent in histologic grade III tumors compared to grade I–II tumors. A similar trend was observed in tumors with high BR scores compared to low or intermediate BR scores. No significant association was observed between HER2-low status and age, menopausal status, tumor size, lymph node involvement, or disease stage. Among hormone receptor subgroups, HER2-low incidence was significantly higher in hormone receptor–positive tumors with low or intermediate BR scores compared to hormone receptor–negative tumors with high BR scores (81% vs. 59%, P = 0.019). A similar association was noted with histologic grade.
Conclusion: HER2-low breast cancer is significantly associated with higher histologic grade and BR score, particularly within specific hormone receptor subgroups. These findings suggest that HER2-low tumors represent a biologically distinct subset of breast cancer, independent of traditional clinicopathological parameters.
Keywords: Breast cancer, HER2-low breast cancer, HER2-low tumor.
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